Small plates dining is gaining a lot of popularity in recent times, probably because people are eating less while wanting to eat more variety. Restaurants have turned to sharing plates and small bites to give variety to a meal. Many years back, I went to one of the first to offer these small plates Mediterranean restaurant called Moosehead.
One of the pioneering hipster joint on Telok Ayer Street, Moosehead Kitchen & Bar has been the go-to casual lunch spot in the CBD, with a menu focusing on grab-and-go burgers, healthy salads and a small selection of mains. Come dinner, however, the quick fixes make way for heartier meat cuts, pastas and small plates meant to share.
The new Head Chef, Scots-born Seumas Smith was only 24 years old (back in 2017), but has already accumulated 8 years of culinary skills in the kitchens of 1-Michelin-star Lords of the Manor, 2-Michelin-star Dinner by Heston (both in UK), and Equina in Singapore. Chef Seumas fits just nicely into Moosehead, which has always aimed to be a platform and stepping stone for young culinary talents as envisioned by the father-and-son owners Glen and Daniel Ballis.
Ground sumac is the milled powder form of the dried deep red berries of sumac bush that are used as a spice in Middle Eastern cuisine that is tangy and lemony. hummus / sumac / flatbread was a simple hummus dip with a really thin flatbread that one can mistaken for a prata. But it was unleavened and not crunch, so it was so suitable to mop up the hummus and EVOL with.
crunchy feta / honey / sesame – deep fried cheese balls this dish was.
fried artichokes / taramasalata / lemon – I loved artichokes, I don’t know why. Done badly, artichokes have a tough exterior that would cut ones mouth when bitten into. But if the artichokes are properly skinned, the crunchy hearts are so nice especially when deep fried, give them a soft and juicy texture. The artichokes were dusted with bread crumbs and deep fried and came with a taramasalata – a creamy Greek deep made from salted roe of cod.
beetroot salad / feta / rosemary dressing / pine nuts – simple salad, delicately balanced with rosemary infused olive oil.
Carrying on the main style of cooking that has established Moosehead in endearing popularity, Chef Seumas uses the Inka oven heavily for his dishes, producing flavors that are distinct, robust, and full of charcoal-grilled aroma. roast broccolini / hoisin aioli / peanuts was charred and uglily delicious. Innovative use of hoisin sauce with mayonnaise, this was trying to mimic the Cantonese style of stir-fried broccoli with hoisin sauce.
roast cauliflower / garlic miso / leek confit – another charred dish placed on a bed of leek confit while the miso gave it umami.
pork ragu / homemade pasta / chervil / parmesan
roast spring chicken / celeriac / gremolata
O’Connor beef flank 200 grams / mushroom ketchup / spring onions
Nice for lunch, not been there for dinner. Worth a revisit.
Moosehead kitchen-bar
11O Telok Ayer St, Singapore, 068579
Tel : +65 6636 8055
Date Visited : Feb 2017
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